An employee walking along a thermal pipe at the Kamojang geothermalpower plant near Garut, West Java, on March 18. State utility provider Perusahaan Listrik Negara is targeting an additional 135 megawatts ofelectricity from three new geothermal plants. (Reuters Photo/Beawiharta)

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time. …”

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Toilets donated to Aceh villagers

Despite the "modern" age, toilets were still new to most villagers in Nagan Raya, a new regency some 80 kilometers south of Banda Aceh, where locals used to end up going behind bushes or in rivers.

Like other villages, Meunasah Dayah in Beutong subdistrict has no toilets. Not a single house has a private toilet either.

In fact most villagers had heard more about the "western" toilet equipment than they had experience using it.

Nyak Puteh, 28, is one of the Meunasah Dayah villagers, who previously wouldn't think twice about defecating in an open place like the backyard or near an irrigation network.

"We usually defecate in the evening or morning. It depends on when we need to go," Nyak Puteh said.

Whenever he defecated, he said he was accompanied by his wife Nurhayati, 35. In the village, he said, it wasn't advisable to go out to the forests alone at night because there were many dangerous wild animals, including bears and wild boars.

Defecating in the open was once normal in the village. During the dry season, however, it would become a serious problem as the dried feces made a putrid odor everywhere.

"We had to find a clean place even though it was difficult to do. We paid no attention to public toilet facilities because people needed to queue up there, which was a nuisance," Nyak Puteh said.

Deep down, Nyak Puteh said, he wished for his own toilet, just like the government public toilets. Unfortunately, he said, he had no money to buy one because it was mainly spent on treatments for his chronic tuberculosis.

There are around 170 families in Meunasah Dayah village, but none had a private toilet.

"Maybe it's because villagers don't understand the importance of sanitation. They have been defecating out in the open since their ancestors' times," Banta Lidan, head of the village, said.

Most of the villagers have had little or no education. Many opting to work over not go to school.

Banta Lidan, who was chosen as head of the village last year, said he was sorry about the poor sanitary condition of his village.

When Islamic Relief representatives visited the village and announced plans to construct toilet facilities, Banta agreed immediately.

"If we have toilets, people will be able to take care of their health better. And the village will become cleaner," Banta said.

Islamic Relief and the UNICEF water, environment and sanitation (WES) project have built some 170 toilets in the village. They have provided all the necessary materials for toilets ranging from cement, bricks and zinc to septic tanks. The organizations have also taught people how to build toilet amenities.

The project aims to promote hygiene and develop community skills.

With a private toilet, Nyak Puteh said, he feels happy now. He can go to the toilet any time he wants, without his wife or bears or wild boars.

Banta Lidan said he was relieved simply because his village is now free from feces.

Health, Safety & Environment

PRECARIOUS: Without proper safety equipment, three workers put the iron frame for a billboard in place near the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Friday. The billboard will display a sign celebrating the city's 480th birthday. JP/Arief Suhardiman

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Water Distribution

Flow of Funds, Flow of Water (WB)

Today, fewer than 20% of households in Indonesia have access to piped water, which is inexpensive and still of reasonable quality compared to alternative sources. The situation has deteriorated in recent years, as the sector can no longer rely on central government grants and loans, formerly major sources of funding.Read More ...

FREE CAR WASH: A taxi is sprayed with water from a broken pipe on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta on Sunday. (JP/J. Adiguna)

GIFT FROM EARTH: Almost half of Jakarta's residents use groundwater as their main source of clean water due to a lack of access to treated piped water. Water comes from wells like the one this family in Kampung Bahari, North Jakarta are using (photo above), or mechanic pumps like this one in Kampung Melayu, South Jakarta. (JP/P.J. Leo)

LATEST NEWS: Photographers covering the deteriorating health of former president Soeharto send pictures through a wireless internet facility in front of Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta on Wednesday. The service, which was provided by IT company CISCO, has saved journalists the effort of going back and forth between their offices to submit their work. JP/R. Berto Wedhatama